Bringing your new puppy home is a very exciting time for every family. You’ve been waiting months for your new family member and finally getting to hold that baby in your arms is so wonderful!
There is a lot that goes into bringing your puppy home though and many families have a lot of questions about how to prepare for puppy both before and after puppy comes home. This page is to try and answer the most common questions I get.
What do I need to get for my new puppy?
All puppies go home with a nice puppy starter pack. You can see a list of everything included in it at the bottom of our purchasing page. This pack covers most of the puppy essentials including 2 weeks of food that the puppy is used to eating. The first two weeks are the most stressful for puppies so you want to make the transition as easy as possible by keeping things like diet consistent for puppy. Some puppies are so worried about the new home that they don’t even eat the first 24hours so you want to make sure that at the very least the food they are used to eating is avaible to them. Families are welcome to transition to a new food slowly after the first two weeks if they wish but the food I use is a good puppy food to stay on. ProPlan Focus Small breed puppy.
Here is a list of what you will need for puppy that is not included in my puppy pack.
Ceramic or stainless steel food and water bowls. Please no plastic products where food and water are concerned. They can potentially hold bacteria and the plastic off gas can cause rashes and skin issues around your puppies face and lips.
Beds– poodles love those round fluffy donut style beds where they can dig around and fluff themselves the perfect spot. Puppy will come home with a blanket from mom and siblings that you can put in the new donut bed to make puppy feel at home. Poodles also love to be higher off the ground and so raised beds are also a favorite at our house. You’ll want a bed in each of the rooms your puppy will be spending time.
Crate– your puppy will be exposed to a crate while in my home. Puppies are not locked into crates here but they are left open and most puppies will put themselves to bed in the crate if they consider it a safe and comfortable place. Crate training is not a requirement but if that is something you want to continue with your puppy you will want to buy a crate for your home. The puppies use 24″ crates and as an adult a 30″ crate is ideal.
Puppy Pen or Door Gates. When you bring your puppy home you will need a safe place to contain your puppy while you are busy doing other things and not watching puppy. You can create this by putting up gates and blocking the puppy into a safe room ie..kitchen, dining, bedroom ect..somewhere that there isn’t anything they can get into. Or you can get a puppy pen and set your puppy up in its own little space where it can be safe from harm while you are occupied. However you choose to do this will depend on the set up of your home. You will want to set your puppy up for success by providing a bed or crate to sleep in on one side and a potty area on the opposite side with toys and food/water accessible.
Potty Training
Young puppies cannot hold their bladders very long, we are talking maybe 30-45min. at first and slowly stretching as they age. If your puppy has been inside playing more than half an hour, its time to take puppy outside to potty. Have a designated area that you take the puppy to every single time for a potty break. Give a command “go potty” in a happy encouraging voice…let them sniff around to find the perfect spot…then “good puppy!” lots of praise and maybe some treats when they go. Repeat every hour and you should have a puppy who catches on quick. Ignore potty accidents in the house and tell yourself( not the puppy) ” I should have taken puppy out sooner or stayed out longer.” BREATHE Its just a baby who is still learning…try again to catch clues better next time.
For unattended puppies, be sure to set up a potty area in the puppy pen/safe room. You can’t always be there to take them out right away, they need a designated area available until they can hold their bladder longer. You can create this with fake turf grass placed over puppy pads or a litter box type area with feline pine pellets, alfalfa pellets from the feed store or shavings.
Grooming
Grooming is a HUGE part of a poodles life…for its entire life. It takes practice to be good for grooming, puppies practice here and they need to practice with you at home too. Puppies get a full bath, blow dry and grooming every single week here with me starting at 2-3 weeks old. That means they have been groomed here a good 6-8 times before they go home and have had a really solid start but you have to continue at home. Puppies go home with a gentle puppy shampoo and I recommend washing puppy if not every week at least every other week with warm water in your tub or sink and then gently blow dry with your human hair dryer on warm setting.
Puppy goes home with brush and nail clippers in the puppy pack. Every week have one person hold puppy while another person trims nails. Brush puppies coat every other day to keep them tangle free. Every day gently handle puppies feet and hold face in a kind but firm manor so they can be well adjusted to handling once they go to the groomer.
Around 3-4 months make puppies first grooming appointment with a professional and schedule them out every 6 weeks to keep them looking and feeling their best.
Puppy Class
I recommend and encourage every single puppy and family to do a puppy kindergarten/ social class. Find a good program near you with a trainer you trust and get your puppy out for some fun. This is especially important for poodles because they really need some positive social interactions as puppies so that they don’t become fearful of other dogs and people. They are a very sensitive breed and really read the emotions of others. This is also super fun for you as the person and everyone really enjoys getting their puppy out to play with other puppies. Many families move onto a STAR puppy training class for basic obedience and this is highly recommended. Poodles are so smart and learn very fast.
Training treats- I include a small jar of ZiwiPeak Mackerel and Lamb air-dried food for training. The puppies LOVE it and its very healthy! You might want to pick up a package at the store to continue your training.
